A major concern for immobile patients and like persons are medical conditions that form clots in the blood, such as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and peripheral edema. Such patients and persons include those undergoing surgery, anesthesia, extended periods of bed rest, etc. The conditions and resulting risks associated with patient immobility may be controlled or alleviated by applying intermittent pressure to a patient's limb, such as, for example, a leg or foot to assist in blood circulation. For example, sequential compression devices have been used. Sequential compression devices are typically constructed of two sheets of material secured together at the seams to define one or more fluid-impervious bladders, which are connected to a source of pressure for applying sequential pressure around a patient's body parts for improving blood return to the heart. The inflatable sections are covered with a laminate to improve durability, patient comfort, and to protect against puncture. The two sheets are structurally designed to withstand a changing pressure over time under repeated use. Medical tubing is used to make connection of the source of pressure to the usually several bladders of the compression device.
The source of air pressure for the compression device is an air compressor most often located in a compression control unit. The compression control unit includes a controller to control the amount of air pressure supplied to the compression device. A user interface on the control unit allows medical personnel to input operating parameters to the controller. The compression control unit may include a mount for mounting the control unit on a bed unit in a hospital, more specifically, on a side board or a head board or a foot board, of the hospital bed unit. In one example, the mount includes a wire frame shaped generally as a hook so that the mount catches on the bed unit.
One problem associated with compression control units, particularly in a hospital setting, is excess electrical wires and/or excess fluid tubing extending from the units both during use and when the units are not in use. For example, the fluid tubing leading from the compression control unit to the compression device is typically longer than necessary so that slack is present during use. The compression control unit does not include a device that stores such excess slack when the control unit is mounted on the hospital bed unit. As such, the excess tubing may end up on the floor, adjacent to the bed, where it becomes a tripping hazard. Moreover, the compression control unit does not include a device that effectively stores the fluid tubing and the electrical cord when the control unit is not in use. As such, the fluid tubing and the electrical cord may create a tripping hazard and/or may become tangled with tubes and/or cords of other medical devices, including other compression control units.